Dagor Dagorath
by Casey Toh
Summary: Set in the modern world. The prophecy of Mandos starts. The return of Morgoth. The meeting of Men and the Firstborn. Status: Chapter 1 up.
1. Prologue: The Beginning of a New End

A/N: This may be taken as a companion/expanded piece to my other one-shot story, _Arda__ Unmarred_. Hopefully, I¡¯ll get enough inspiration to finish this¡­heh. I haven¡¯t been writing for almost half a year. Please forgive my weird style if you spot it. 

**Important: **If you read this piece with weird characters, please right-click, and from encoding, choose Chinese Simplified. My sis messed up my encoding stuff. Grr.

Disclaimer: All Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. No intentional copyright infringement is intended through their use.

**Dagor**** Dagorath**

**Prologue: The Beginning of a New End**

_¡°¡­Thus spake the Prophecy of Mandos, which he declared in Valmar at the judgment of the Gods, and the rumour of it was whispered among all the Elves of the West: when the world is old and the powers grow weary, then Morgoth shall come back through the Door out of the Timeless Night; and he shall destroy the Sun and the Moon, but Eärendel shall come upon him as a white flame and drive him from the airs. Then shall the last battle be gathered on the fields of Valinor. In that day Tulkas shall strive with Melko, and on his right shall stand Fionwë and on his left T¨²rin Turambar, son of H¨²rin, Conqueror of Fate; and it shall be the black sword of T¨²rin that deals unto Melko his death and final end; and so shall the children of H¨²rin and all Men be avenged._

_ Thereafter shall the Silmarils be recovered out of sea and earth and air; for Eärendel shall descend and yield up the flame that he hath in keeping. Then Fëanor shall bear the Three and yield them onto Yavanna Pal¨²rien; and she will break them and with their fire rekindle the Two Trees, and a great light shall come forth; and the Mountains of Valinor shall be leveled, so that the light goes out over all the world. In that light the Gods will again grow young, and the Elves awake and all their dead arise, and the purpose of Il¨²vatar be fulfilled concerning them. But of Men in that day the prophecy speaks not, save of T¨²rin only, and him it names among the Gods¡­¡± ~_Mandos; The Quenta S19 (Q II), The Shaping of Middle-earth

***

Long had the withdrawing of Valinor from the Central Lands been done, even in the memories of they who had been known as the _Ainur_, before the world began; and the _Valar_, by the Elves who had first thought of speech.

The Lords of the Valar are seven: Manwë, Tulkas, Oromë, Aulë, Ulmo, L¨®rien and Mandos. All were equal in stature, but Manwë was held most puissant amongst them, he who knew the most of Il¨²vatar¡¯s thoughts. Yet, only N¨¢mo Mandos, the Doomsman, understood Il¨²vatar¡¯s will, being the Herald of Doom for all matters great and small, yet never proclaiming them save by necessity, or by summons from Manwë.

He is the Doomsman, and the Fëantur, and the Master of the spirits that came ever to his Halls, for which they are ordained to do so, for Mortals and Immortals alike: those who have died¡ªthe Immortals remain there awaiting judgment and finding healing; and the Mortals for a brief rest ere they continued on their way beyond Arda.

The Halls of Mandos is set at the utmost west of Valinor, and it faced the boundaries of the World, impassable save through the Door of Night, which is ever guarded by Eärendil, sailing Vingelot.

Set so near the confines of Arda, where the boundaries were given strength by Il¨²vatar¡¯s will and the wills of the Valar, ever did the veil thicken or thinned at times, allowing brief exchanges between within, and beyond.

Being free of bodily constraints, the spirits residing in Mandos Hall felt more acutely than even the Elves in Valinor the changes in the world, and they whispered restlessly.

***

N¨¢mo Mandos stood at a window, gazing into the darkness beyond Valinor, which had begun even ere it reached the Door of Night. His dark hair and dark eyes revealed few of his thoughts, ever guarded was he against the revealing of prophecies not meant for others, save by Il¨²vatar¡¯s will.

Winds unfelt by anyone else stirred his hair.

Behind him sat Vairë, the Weaver, his spouse even before the forming of the World, and even before Il¨²vatar himself created them, for they were brought forth from His thoughts, and one thought knew and sought out another even before their spirits had formed.

He needed no sight to know what Vairë had weaved, having already felt the shifts of the barrier. 

Word had been brought from his brethren Irmo L¨®rien, and he had said: ¡°Dark have my dreams been of late, and even my garden feels the weight.¡±

¡°The darkness grows heavier,¡± Vairë said.

¡°Yes.¡± And Mandos turned, fixing his eyes upon the tapestry in his spouse¡¯s hands. It was white, yet torn in places by black gashes and fainter areas of grey.

Il¨²vatar did not speak.

***

The Atlantic Ocean laid between Europe, and the United States of America. It spanned not as large as the Pacific, but many areas were not traveled upon by people, and many areas remained unexplored.

Few storms accompanied heavy fogs in that area, but in the light of facing such dangers as storms, few people ever gave thought to the fogs.

Ships began appearing out of the fogs and storms: ships with white sails bearing the emblems of swans in flight set upon crafts built in the likeness of great white swans, their prows arching beautifully and gracefully.

Through the storms and fogs, these swan-ships cut gracefully and silent through the waters, slicing through them as a keen blade might part flesh.

Though no eyes saw them, the shipwrights of these crafts cast upon themselves such spells made from Music, and made from Songs, likened to the disguise Finrod Felagund had cast upon Beren and their party to hide from the eyes of the Dark Lord.

And so, in small groups, the Elves made their way to the Central Lands so long unvisited by any Powers or Firstborn, save by Ulmo through the waters, and even those visits were less than what once had been.


	2. One: Discussions

A/N: My apologies for taking this long with the first chapter. Juggling school, projects, and writing is not a fun experience.

**Note: As always, if you see weird characters, please right click, and go to encoding, then Chinese Simplified.** Of course, I¡¯ll appreciate any help given in knowing how to fix my MS Word encoding back. I¡¯ve been unsuccessful thus far.

**Dagor**** Dagorath**

**One:**

The constant beeping of the sonar filled the almost-silent submarine as some people remained in their positions at their respective stations. A few others moved about, checking various screens and giving instructions.

Not everything in the sonar picture was right.

¡°Captain Sanders, look at this!¡±

The Captain, a lean, dark-haired and dark-eyed man, walked over. His steps were unhurried but purposeful and brisk, and he stood before the screen then, his eyes scanning the details quickly to determine what was wrong.

¡°What is that?¡± he demanded.

The screen showed the uneven terrain the bed of the North Sea presented. There were hills and valleys, most of them ranging from two hundred meters to about four kilometers deep. Their sonar could not reach as far as that, and sometimes, there were ¡®holes¡¯ in the sonar picture where these valleys went too deep.

But those were wide holes, spanning many meters across.

This one was small, and at a much shallower depth than the limit of the range of the sonar. This hole measure only about fifteen centimeters across, and a few centimeters wide.

There was no answer to his question.

¡°Visual?¡± he asked another.

¡°It¡¯s pretty unclear, sir. Looks just like a clump of soil and muck.¡±

Sanders leaned closer to the screen, staring, as if by the will of his eyes alone the image would become clear and the phenomena revealed. 

It was strange, and even though it was there, a hole in the sonar picture shouldn¡¯t have appeared without at least some sort of warning.

¡°Can we go closer to find out what it is, sir?¡±

Sanders hesitated for a few seconds. ¡°No,¡± he said decisively. ¡°We won¡¯t be able to know more. Take down the coordinates. We can send divers down later.¡±

¡°Yes sir.¡±

***

The ground started to harden, soft rich soil giving way to dried and harder ones, littered with stones and rocks. There were certain slithery patterns running through them: solidified remnants of lava that had flowed a long way.

That particular layer of soil had been covered by a few other layers of dirt and lava that had flowed over it in later times, but the land had been weathered as the volcano died, and this one was exposed.

Lindsey MacRonnell trudged uphill, some picks and shovels in her hands. She grumbled, wondering why England couldn¡¯t have had any known (or even extinct) volcanoes, so that she didn¡¯t have to go so far north to find one (and those were extinct too!). 

After a few minutes more of climbing, she stopped and placed her equipment down, selecting the pick to use on a patch of soil and rocks. It was not too hard or too packed together, and she managed to loosen enough to pick a few surface debris up.

But when she reached for a large clump slightly to her left, it wouldn¡¯t be moved.

Lindsey dropped the pick and switched to using the shovel. She dug a circular trench around that clump, and saw that it wasn¡¯t embedded too deeply in the ground.

Still, it wouldn¡¯t be lifted when she tried it again.

_Paleo__-magnetism only affects the direction of the iron in lava, right?_ She questioned her knowledge. _I don¡¯t think rocks are affected, and this stupid clump certainly doesn¡¯t seem to be iron._

Debating with herself presented some choices, and she picked the option of choosing other clumps of rocks and soil, promising to return with help at a later date.

***

¡°Yo, Leon! Wait up!¡± A pause. ¡°And you too, Gary!¡±

Legolas and Gildor paused in their strides, turning together to he who had called their names.

¡°Please hurry, Michael,¡± Gildor said, an almost hard tone in his voice. Having lived for but forty years amongst mortals had not taught him patience with their dealings of them. ¡°And why do you walk so slowly, Sarah? Linda?¡±

The two girls giggled at the irritated frown on Gildor¡¯s face.

¡°And why are you guys walking so fast, Gary?¡± Linda teased. ¡°Where are you hurrying to?¡±

Legolas snorted, and shot, ¡°You are too slow. Hurry up. The eating house will be full if you drag your feet like that!¡± He turned and started to walk again, and Gildor followed, grumbling. 

¡°The years amongst Mortals, especially Mortals of this Age, has influenced you greatly, Prince,¡± Gildor muttered. ¡°I see no good in that.¡±

¡°If we wish to live amongst them,¡± Legolas answered, ¡°we must speak and act like them, for do you not remember the strange and suspicious looks upon us when we first stepped on these shores? Those were hard times indeed.¡±

Gildor nodded, casting a wary glance behind them, then speaking even more softly, his eyes flicking to each person that passed them. ¡°Those were hard times, even with our disguises. Songs hold less strength here than they do in times of old.¡±

¡°Yes, and this rising of technology brings fear into me. Saruman¡¯s hold may be short, but even in bodily death, his reach grows long. Does his _feä_spread throughout the lands?¡±

Gildor shook his head. ¡°I do not know where the souls of the Maiar go after death, for not even Manwë will reveal that to us. But it is frightening indeed.¡±

The chattering of Michael, Sarah and Linda drew closer, but Legolas and Gildor ignored them, though they did not let their guards down.

¡°The things they name ¡®computers¡¯ feel too much to me like the _palant¨ªri_,¡± said Legolas, ¡°and the recount of the one Denethor held brings to my mind of evil and shadows.¡±

Gildor was about to speak more, but they had heard the fast approach of their companions, and both fell silent.

¡°Hey, s¡¯up, man?¡± Sarah demanded of them. ¡°You guys have been talking so softly ever since we came out of the theatre. What gives?¡±

¡°It is nothing, Sarah.¡± Gildor stepped forward and pushed open the door to the McDonalds, holding it for the rest. 

¡°You guys are nuts, man.¡± Michael grinned, brushing past them to get to an empty booth. ¡°Walking so closely together and talking so softly. You guys must be in luurve.¡±

Legolas glared at him. ¡°Be quiet, and go buy the food.¡±

¡°Fine, fine! I give!¡± He stepped out of the booth and dragged the two girls along to the queue.

Sarah glanced back and saw the two settle onto the seats with grace and an almost quiet sort of¡­strength. She frowned but kept quiet.

¡°Mortal children,¡± Gildor sighed. ¡°What did you think of the¡­movie, Legolas?¡± He spoke the name almost in a whisper.

Legolas¡¯s face was troubled. ¡°It does not feel real. They do not know how the war was fought. They were not there.¡±

¡°Yet, the books that were written were accurate,¡± said Gildor. ¡°I did not think that a Mortal would know enough to write our tales. Where do you think he heard our tales from?¡±

¡°Foresight fr¡ª¡±

¡°Leon! What drink d¡¯you want?¡± Linda called, causing several heads to turn.

¡°Water!¡± he answered, and turned back to Gildor. ¡°¡ªfrom the Va¡ª¡±

¡°I want a coke, please! My thanks!¡±

Legolas glared at his companion. ¡°You claim not to like the ways of Mortals and you cannot tear your heart away from coke?¡±

Gildor just shrugged.

¡°¡ªforesight from the Valar, mayhap.¡± There was a sigh. ¡°Or mayhap from Il¨²vatar?¡±

¡°What from Il¨²vatar?¡± Sarah set her tray down and slid in. ¡°Talking about the movie?¡±

¡°Ye¡ª¡±

¡°It was totally awesome, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Linda sat down, followed by Michael. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s been two years since FotR! RotK was excellent!¡±

¡°Yes, it was good. But I do think that many facts were¡­inaccurate.¡±

¡°Always the spoilsport, Gary,¡± Michael shot.

Sarah thought a look of anger passed his face, and for a moment, there was a bright fire in his eyes.

¡°I thought the Elves throughout the whole thing were pretty cool,¡± she said.

Gary caught her eyes and held her gaze. ¡°You have read the books,¡± he spoke slowly, almost as a thought to himself. ¡°Do you¡­believe that Elves yet live?¡±

She gazed into his dark depths, feeling as if the surface was a veil to which his real thoughts lay beneath. He conveyed steadiness, danger, yet gentleness. _Almost like an Elf_, she thought.

¡°It¡¯ll be so cool if Elves are real!¡±

Sarah jerked her eyes away to look at Michael, realizing he was speaking.

¡°If they look anything like the LotR Elves, whoa! Y¡¯know?¡± he chuckled.

Linda only grinned. ¡°I want Legolas.¡±

Legolas glanced sharply at her, then relaxed, knowing that she spoke of the golden-haired Legolas that was acted by a Mortal named Orlando Bloom.

Sarah saw that Gary was looking away.

¡°I don¡¯t believe in Elves,¡± she said.


End file.
